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Language Spanish journal of palaeontology. 2017. Vol. 32, no. 1
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- New species of the rugose coral genus Lithostrotion Fleming in the upper Viséan from the Azrou-Khenifra Basin (Morocco)(2020) Rodríguez, Sergio; Somerville, Ian D.; Said, IsmailThe new species Lithostrotion termieri Rodríguez & Somerville is described. It shows very large corallites of the rugose genus Lithostrotion Fleming. It has been recorded up to now only in upper Viséan rocks from the type locality, the Akrab ridge, Morocco also called Tizi Ben Zizouit by Termier & Termier (1950), who identified it as Lonsdaleia floriformis, and south-east from Tabainout, also from the Azrou-Khenifra Basin.
- Witnesses of the early Pliocene sea-level rise in the Manilva Basin (Málaga, S Spain)(2020) Aguirre, Julio; Domènech, Rosa; Martinell, Jordi; Mayoral, Eduardo; Santos, Ana; Pérez-Asensio, José NoelThe Sierra de la Utrera, a relief in the Manilva Basin (Málaga, SW Spain), shows bored surfaces at different heights above present-day sea level, from 96 m to 287 m. Borings occur in the eastern, central, and western parts of the Canuto de la Utrera, a prominent gorge in the central southern part of the relief excavated in Mesozoic limestones, as well as on the western end of the Canuto Chico, a smaller canyon in the northern part. Pliocene marine deposits fossilized the bored surfaces. Bored boulders of the substrate are embedded in the Pliocene sediments. The traces Gastrochaenolites ispp., Entobia ispp., Caulostrepsis ispp., Circolites kotoucensis, and Ericichnus asgaardi have been identified. Among these, Caulostrepsis is found only in the reworked blocks. This ichnoassemblage, attributed to the archetypical Entobia Ichnofacies of rocky shores, represents boring activity in high-energy, very-shallow-water settings, close to the sea level, and with a virtually null sedimentation rate. The vertical distribution of bored surfaces attests to a progressive sea-level rise. The onlap of the Pliocene deposits on the substrate is consistent with the deepening trend. Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages collected from the sediment adjacent to the Sierra de la Utrera demonstrate that boring activity spanned, at most, 1 Ma during the early Pliocene, Zanclean (biozones MPl 1 and MPl 2), ranging from 5.33 to 4.36 Ma.
- Architectural effects on fossil preservation. The case of macaroni coralline algae(2020) Braga, Juan C; Sola, FernandoCoralline red algae with protuberances in their thalli are common and instructive examples of fabricational effects on fossil preservation. The body (thallus) of non-geniculate coralline algae is a coherent mass of cell filaments. All vegetative cells, except the epithallial ones at the tip of each filament are enclosed by a high-Mg calcite wall. Many extant and extinct species of coralline algae have protuberances in their thalli. Protuberances appear both on the dorsal surface of algae that grow attached to a rigid substrate and in unattached specimens living on loose sediment. In either case, protuberances develop due to a higher growth rate of fi laments in their centre. In each growth step, the cells formed at the protuberance apex are longer than coeval cells at the protuberance sides. The cell length decreases radially outwards from the protuberance tip. Consequently, central cells in protuberances are generally longer than lateral ones. Calcite walls of central, longer cells are thinner, less dense, and richer in Mg2+ than those of lateral cells. Accordingly, the former are more susceptible to dissolution during fossilization. As a result, dead and fossil coralline algae with protuberance centres partially or totally dissolved are relatively common. In these cases, protuberances occur as structures with an empty or vuggy central part and well-preserved sides. This macaroni-like preservation of corallines is particularly common in Cenozoic marl deposits, formed mainly by concentrations of unattached branching coralline thalli.
- Late Aragonian mammal sites of Cuesta del Rey (Duero Basin, Burgos, Spain)(2020) Sesé, Carmen; Morales, JorgeThe Cuesta del Rey mammal sites located on the NE border of the Duero Basin are of great importance with regard to understand the general biostratigraphy of the basin, because Miocene mammal sites are extremely scarce in this area in comparison with the central part of the basin. The mammals identified in Cuesta del Rey-1 are: Eulipotyphla: cf. Miosorex sp.; Rodentia: Heteroxerus sp., Armantomys cf. tricristatus, Megacricetodon ibericus, Megacricetodon minor-Megacricetodon debruijni, Hispanomys sp. and Democricetodon sp. The Cuesta del Rey-1 rodent assemblage is characteristic of the end of the upper Aragonian (MN 7/8, end of the middle Miocene), equivalent to the local subzone G3 of the G zone. The presence of the genera Heteroxerus and Armantomys, and the predominance of Megacricetodon (with 80% of the total percentage of the minimum number of individuals of the micromammals) suggested an open savannah or steppe palaeoenvironment. The mammals identified in Cuesta del Rey-3 are: Rodentia: Megacricetodon cf. ibericus; Artiodactyla: Dorcatherium sp. and Listriodon cf. splendens. Dorcatherium sp. represents the first appearance of the Tragulidae family in the Duero Basin, suggesting the existence of permanent watercourses.
- Benthic foraminifera and environmental changes in the Quaternary of the western Mediterranean coast: the core of Xeraco, Valencia, Spain(2020) Usera, Juan; Guilllem, Jordi; Alberola, Carmen; García, IgnacioThe evolution of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages from a 60 m core drilled in the Quaternary lagoon of Xeraco (Valencia, Spain) is studied. Two moments of warm climate, high sea-level and maximal marine influence in the lagoon have been identified. The first one at the base of the core, punctuated by highly frequent changes during the Upper Pleistocene, and the other one in the upper end of the series during the Holocene. The presence of a middle core section with low diversity and a nearly total absence of marine foraminifers is interpreted as a regressive interval of cold climate conditions linked to a glacial stage.
- Periostracum and fibrous shell microstructure in the unusual Cambrian hyolith Cupitheca(2020) Vendrasco, Michael J; Checa, Antonio G; Porter, Susannah MCupitheca is an enigmatic tubular fossil common in early Cambrian deposits worldwide. It has recently been argued to be a hyolith, probably orthothecid. Cupitheca had a dense network of mantle-filled tubules that connected to what we interpret as a continuous organic periostracum. The innermost shell layer consists of horizontal or slightly inclined bundles of fibres elongated along the a-axis and offset from other bundles at aragonitic twin angles, confirming aragonite as the original mineralogy for the shell of Cupitheca. This is a similar Shell microstructure to that inferred for Cambrian hyoliths, strengthening the claim that Cupitheca is a hyolith. This shell microstructure of bundled aragonite fibres and the tubule systems can also be seen in many Cambrian molluscs and other lophotrochozoans. In some lineages this shell texture evolved into fracture-resistant crossed lamellar microstructure and in others nacre. These transitions began to occur sometime between the mid-Cambrian and Ordovician, and nacre and crossed lamellar microstructure were the most common constituents of the inner shell layer of molluscs by the middle or late Palaeozoic Era.
- Paroniceras, Frechiella y Oxyparoniceras (Ammonitida) en relación con las fluctuaciones térmicas y los ciclos transgresivo-regresivos detectados en el Toarciense de España(2020) Martínez, GemmaEl registro de las especies de Frechiella Prinz, 1904, Paroniceras Bonarelli, 1893 y Oxyparoniceras Guex, 1974 durante el Toarciense en el E y N de España, se ha relacionado con la evolución paleogeográfica y los ciclos deposicionales reconocidos en la Cordillera Ibérica. Sin embargo, es más evidente su relación con los intervalos de calentamiento relativo y picos térmicos, indicados por distintos autores en el Toarciense del norte y de la parte centro-oriental de la Subplaca Ibérica. Frechiella se ha registrado en la Zona Bifrons, Paroniceras en la Zona Variabilis y Oxyparoniceras en la parte superior de la Zona Thouarsense y parte inferior de la Zona Dispansum. La relación entre el registro de dichos géneros y las paleotemperaturas, parece indicar que sus especies se han desarrollado en medios cálidos y su presencia en las Cordilleras Ibérica y Cantábrica se debe a una migración desde otras áreas, sin que en todos los casos esto implique una colonización efectiva
- Tectogonotoechia rivasi n. sp. A new lower Pragian Celtiberian (Spain) Ancystrorhynchoidea rhynchonellid brachiopod(2020) García-Alcalde, Jenaro L; Herrera, ZarelaA new lower Pragian Ancystrorhynchoidea rhynchonellid, Tectogonotoechia rivasi n. sp. of the Celtiberian region (Eastern Iberian Chain, EIC, and Eastern Guadarrama, EG) is described and figured. The growth of the new species, from the last neanic stage to the senescent one is specially underlined. T. rivasi n. sp. is characterized as the other species of the genus by the occurrence of a pseudoseptum and a pseudoseptalium in the dorsal interior, with a fine connectivum forming a roofed over structure covering most part of the latter. Exteriorly, the species is an entirely costate, strongly dorsibiconvex, uniplicate form lacking of marginal spines. T. rivasi n. sp. is fairly abundant in the upper part of the Nogueras Formation in the EIC and in the lower third of the Cercadillo Formation in the EG and it is usually accompanied by a varied macrofauna of brachiopods, bryozoans, solitary corals, tabulates, trilobites, ostracods and others. The biocenose of T. rivasi n. sp. is characterized by the occurrence of abundant incrusting and boring epizoans colonizing mainly the brachiopods, representing different symbiotic interactions and probably a permanent risk for the epizoans to be buried in an unstable soft substrate.
- David Malcolm Raup (1933-2015) at the starting point of a new paradigm for Palaeontology(2020) De Renzi, MiquelThis is a tribute to the late David Malcolm Raup, one of the major palaeontologists of the second half of the 20th century. In addition, it is a critical review of his outstanding contributions, mainly in the field of theoretical palaeontology: quantitative modelling, the introduction of probabilistic methods in palaeontology, as well as his great imagination to use techniques from other fields, such as insurance actuary. After a general outline of his youth, I present a general depiction of the main topics of his research as a palaeobiologist: morphology, the structure of the fossil record, evolution, and extinction. He covered areas ranging from the theoretical morphology of coiled shells to the use of Montecarlo methods in evolution and extinction, or the periodicity of mass extinctions and its causes, as well as the episodic nature of background extinctions, which were some of his preferred subjects. With his textbook, co-authored by Steven Stanley, he introduced a new paradigm for palaeontology.
- Pseudolillia Maubeuge, 1949 (Ammonitida, Hildoceratidae) in the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of the NE Spain(2020) Maratilla-García, Miguel; Goy, Antonio; Comas-Rengifo, María JoséIn the present paper, 147 specimens assigned to the genus Pseudolillia Maubeuge, 1949 are studied. This is a considerably high number of samples in comparison with those known in other geographical areas where they have been cited. The six taxa described, P. murvillensis, P. hispanica, P. emiliana, P. donovani, Pseudolillia? n. sp. and Pseudolillia ? sp., come from 22 sites in the Cantabrian and Iberian Ranges and the Isle of Majorca. Their presence in expanded sections enabled us to situate the stratigraphic position of the genus between the upper part of the Thouarsense Chronozone (Fallaciosum Subchronozone) to the Dispansum Chronozone (Gruneri Subchronozone), with maximum abundance found in the Dispansum Chronozone (Insigne Subchronozone). The known palaeobiogeographic range of Pseudolillia is limited to the NW-European Province and to the W of the Tethys, and with the exception of P. emiliana, the species’ distribution ranges are short. In NE Spain, where the highest number of known specimens comes from, P. donovani (typical of the Mediterranean province) is the species presenting the oldest record (Chronozone Thouarsense, Subchronozone Fallaciosum), although it did not necessarily live and reproduce in very nearby areas. P. murvillensis (typical of the NW-European Province), was found in the Chronozone Dispansum (Subchronozone Insigne) together with P. emiliana and P. hispanica in the eastern Pyrenees and particularly in the central sector of the Iberian Range.
- Developments and contributions in the study of La Rioja dinosaur footprints (Spain)(2020) Pérez-Lorente, FéixIn this paper the study of dinosaur tracks of La Rioja, which began in 1970, is presented as an example of knowledge development, achievements, and events occurring around a paleontological resource having strong media impact. Fieldwork, research, and dissemination since the publication of the first scientific works have been accompanied by activities to protect sites and consider them as natural and cultural heritage. Finally it is shown how a paleontological resource has also led to the development of the tourist infrastructure in the area
- Integrative stratigraphy and climatic events of a new lower Paleogene reference section from the Betic Cordillera: Río Gor, Granada province, SE Spain(2020) Pujalte, Victoriano; Apellaniz, Estibaliz; Caballero, Fernando; Monechi, Simonetta; Ortiz, Silvia; Orue-Etxebarria, Xabier; Rodríguez-Tovar, Francisco J; Schmitz, BirgerResearch interest in the early Paleogene was greatly enhanced after the recognition of several short-lived warming events in that period (hyperthermals), considered ancient analogues of the ongoing warming of the Earth climate. In the Caravaca and Alamedilla sections, the previously most studied lower Paleogene sections of the Subbetic Zone (Betic Cordillera), only the most prominent of these hyperthermals had been located, the so-called Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum. The Río Gor section, though less studied, is found to comprise a lower Paleogene succession that is more expanded and complete than Caravaca and Alamedilla; it contains record of the Early Late Paleocene and Paleocene/Eocene Thermal Events, and at least one additional Eocene hyperthermal, thus offering an excellent opportunity to study these climatic events in the Subbetic Zone. Study of the Río Gor section is still in progress, this paper summarizing the state-of-the art of ongoing research.
- A catalogue of the vertebrate fossil record from the Guadix-Baza Basin (SE Spain)(2020) Maldonado-Garrido, Elías; Piñero, Pedro; Agustí, JordiIn this paper, a catalogue of the vertebrate content of the Guadix-Baza Basin is presented. A total of 93 localities have been reviewed, providing more than 300 vertebrate species. These localities have been included in 11 biochronological units, ranging in age from the late Miocene (MN 13) to the Middle Pleistocene (MmQ 4), including also two MN 10 localities. The best-represented epoch in the Guadix-Baza Basin is the Pliocene (MN 14 to MN 16), with 41 sites. This is followed by the Early Pleistocene (MN17 and MmQ1 to MmQ3) with 30 sites. The vertebrate classes represented in the basin are Actinopterygii, Amphibia, Aves, Reptilia and Mammalia, this last one being the best represented. Among mammals, small mammals are in their turn the most abundant, particularly rodents. The families Muridae and Arvicolidae dominate the rodent assemblages, murids being the dominant family in the late Miocene and early Pliocene, and arvicolids the most abundant group in the late Pliocene and Pleistocene.
- Book Review: The trace-fossil record of major evolutionary events.(2020) Belaústegui, ZainBook Review: M. Gabriela Mángano & Luis A. Buatois (eds) (two volumes). 2016. The trace-fossil record of major evolutionary events. Volume 1: Precambrian and Paleozoic. Springer. Topics in Geobiology, 39, 358 pp. (ISBN 978-94-017-9599-9).M. Gabriela Mángano & Luis A. Buatois (eds) (two volumes). 2016. The trace-fossil record of major evolutionary eventsThe trace-fossil record of major evolutionary events. Volume 2: Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Springer. Topics in Geobiology,40, 485 pp. (ISBN 978-94-017-9596-8).
- Amusium cristatum shell beds in the lower Pliocene deposits of Almería-Níjar Basin (SE Spain)(2020) Aguirre, JulioDensely packed monospecific-paucispecific Amusium cristatum-dominated shell beds are signifi cant features in the lower Pliocene deposits of the Almería-Níjar Basin (SE Spain), embedded in distal prodelta fi ne-grained sand and silt. The shells in these concentrations are exceptionally well preserved: articulation is relatively high, fragmentation is low, abrasion is almost lacking, and many shells preserve the original colour pattern. These taphonomic signatures suggest in situ deposition forming autochthonous fossil assemblages, i.e. biological concentrations. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages found in the prodelta deposits indicate that they formed in mesotrophic mid-shelf settings.The A. cristatum accumulations show similarities withrecent concentrations of A. balloti from the Shark Bay (NW Australia). The latter species form dense populations in restricted positions of the bay from 10 to 75 m depth. The lowermost depth range of A. balloti is similar to the palaeobathymetry inferred for the A. cristatum beds. Furthermore, the shell beds studied occur in the centre of a relatively enclosed palaeobay. Apart from these coincidences, the proximate ecological causes accounting for the recent concentrations of A. balloti are still obscure. Thus, no straightforward actualistic comparison explains the biological origin of the A. cristatum shell beds. Based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the prodelta deposits, A. cristatum concentrations are most likely related to intermittent nutrient and food-particle supply from several deltas feeding the palaeobay. The advance of the deltas to the centre of the basin guaranteed rapid burial and the excellent preservation of the shells.
- Bailiaspis (Trilobita) with English affinities from the Mansilla Formation (Cambrian Series 3 of the Iberian Chains; NE Spain)(2020) Chirivella Martorell, Juan B; Liñán, Eladio; Dies Álvarez, Mª Eugenia; Gozalo, RodolfoA new study of the trilobite record in the Mansilla Formation (Iberian Chains, NE Spain) has led to the discovery of the presence of Bailiaspis aff. tuberculata, B. cf. tuberculata and Bailiaspis sp., the first certain citation of this genus in the Mediterranean subprovince. The age of the findings extends from Eccaparadoxides asturianus Zone (upper Leonian) to the lowermost Badulesia tenera Zone (lower Caesaraugustan), which correspond to the upper part of Stage 5 of Cambrian Series 3 and, probably, the lowermost Drumian. The specimens show the cranidial anterior border expanding backwards, forming a plectrum that is characteristic of Bailiaspis. The main characters of the three taxa include: a low convexity of the cranidium, with a very short or absent preglabellar field, and a cranidial sculpture with numerous densely-packed coarse tubercles. The only species that shows these diagnostic characters is Bailiaspis tuberculata from the middle Cambrian of England (Nuneaton, Warwickshire) in horizons inconclusively dated as the Ptychagnostus gibbus Zone (Cambrian Stage 5). This zone has been previously correlated with the upper Leonian and lower Caesaraugustan; thus, the British and Spanish materials are probably of similar age.
